Avengers 27, Avengers Assemble 25

Avengers 27
Hickman (w) and Larroca (a) and F. Martin (c)

The Avengers are fighting the Avengers from an alternate universe, meaning that AIM has suddenly realized their responsibility in unleashing these Avengers on Earth and in losing their brand new super Adaptoids. It's not an enviable position for AIM and they certainly don't want to be tied into this whole situation. While the core of the Avengers fight their dopplegangers, Banner meets with the other Banner, learning that he's been lobotomized and had the part of his brain that recognized and enabled emotion removed. He no longer gets angry and he now turns into the Hulk by a remote control wielded by his Avengers, who act more as conquerors and slaughterers than heroes. Bruce decides to test the sociopath theory by striking him in the back with a wrench, believing that he still has the ability to Hulk. As the Avengers take down their counterparts one by one (along with shocking revelations like their Iron Man is a crazed Jarvis who killed Howard and a baby Tony and took the mantle himself and that their Captain America is actually a General), Hulk turns up, but all actions indicate that he's the other Hulk. Before anything can be conclusive or before the fight can be satisfactorily ended, AIM pops in and puts a temporal field around them, stopping time momentarily so they can capture the other Avengers and bring them back with no record of their interference. Meanwhile, the super Adaptoids have found AIM's multiverse gate and intend to enter it as explorers.

I'll be honest, I kind of keep forgetting this story is going on. That's not to say I don't like it. I think there is a lot to like here. The foes are interesting, seeing what the goal of these Avengers is has proven interesting, AIM's involvement is compelling enough, the dialogue and characters are working pretty well, etc. Still, I think the downfall of this series is that it started with such a boom, carrying multiple arcs that fit under the same umbrella for so long, that it's hard to parse it out into another story. I'm sure that will get better (and likely when the book starts double shipping again it will be easier) as we move forward but it is a little hard to keep this book straight. As I said, though, there's a lot to take away from this book and most of it is completely worthwhile. As a note, I'm not willing to go out there and speculate right now that the super Adaptoids who have just entered the multiverse to explore have anything to do with the Mapmakers or whoever else over in NEW AVENGERS because I have a blog to run and can't get into such speculation, but if everyone else wanted to go ahead and work up that theory and just give me the credit I'm sure I'd manage. FUN FACT: If you buy this book this week, it also comes with a free ALL-NEW INVADERS 1 at the end of it, so if you've been looking to check that out and maybe feel out AVENGERS for yourself, now seems like a prime opportunity. Or save your dollars for a fantastic issue of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN with a free copy of the also-fantastic BLACK WIDOW 1.

Avengers Assemble 25
DeConnick and Ellis (w) and Buffagni, Meikis, N. Edwards, and Ienco (a) and Redmond (c)

Toxic Doxie is on to her last AIM hideout, knowing that the Terrigen cocoon she's seeking is there and ready to strike some more retribution on the organization that attacked her and, in her eyes, stole her prize. The Avengers have been made aware of her attempts and go so far as to warn AIM (their newfound diplomatic immunity is proving irritating ALL OVER THE PLACE, says Cap) before sending out their own team to try to protect their enemies and recover the cocoon themselves. They burst into the hideout just after Covington and make their way through the AIM scientists that are still standing, leaving bodies and banter in their wake. Anya makes it to Doxie first, wearing a gas mask to protect her from a gas Covington's just dispersed that keeps the other Avengers out for the time being. A brief fight ensues and Spider-Girl comes out the victor, prepared by her various mentors over the last few issues. It's a complete success for the Avengers (though they weren't able to arrive in time to save all the AIM scientists and undoubtedly they'll all lose some sleep over that) as they apprehend Toxic Doxie and recover the cocoon. Steve tells Spider-Girl that they're available to her if ever she needs them and tells her that she'll fit in just fine with them, eventually sending her the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes ringtone she'd so coveted from Spider-Woman.

It's a fitting end to this book as we get to see a little bit of everything that this series built itself on. We see a team that enjoys being together and that works well together. We see a well-trained Anya managing to take down a villain by herself thanks to her preparation and skills. We see Spider-Woman and Hulk being friends, Hawkeye being taken down a few pegs, the Captains being leaders, Black Widow getting her information, and so on and so forth. It's a more classic superhero book with the team quipping and saving, unambiguously being heroes. I've repeatedly said throughout this blog that AVENGERS ASSEMBLE acts as the more mainstream, the more lighthearted Avengers title and now it's ended by putting a solid period at the end of that sentence. And as the book makes its rather sweet exit, so too does Kelly Sue DeConnick make a rather sweet exit from the book with a nice little poem, Goodnight Moon style. Goodnight, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE.